I need help with my little leo. He won't eat. He seems lethargic and potentially constipated. I gave him a warm bath yesterday when he first started showing symptoms, and again today. Still he has not pooped and won't eat. He just sits in the corner. I would like to try and give him a dab of mineral oil on his mouth, but I'm not sure if there is any kind in particular that I should use. Any suggestions?
Hello zelestrella, and welcome to the boards. I went ahead and made this a separate post so hopefully you can get more in depth help than in a stickied thread. If you could answer a couple of questions for us, we can try to determine what the problem here is, and can hopefully get your leopard gecko back to normal. 1.) How old is your leo? How long have you had him? 2.) What kind of substrate are you using to line the bottom of your tank? 3.) What are the temperatures in your tank? What are you using to measure those temperatures (digital thermometer, temp gun, round thermometer, stick-on, mercury, etc.)? 4.) When was the last time he ate, and what did he eat? The last time he pooped? 5.) Have there been any significant changes in his care recently? (new cage, new decor, new food items, etc.) 6.) Anything else that might be important? (previous health issues, abnormal behavior, etc.) It could be anything from brumation to impaction. If you can answer those questions for us, we can help get you and your leo taken care of. Talk to you soon!
Hello Cammy, 1) My leo is about 3 months old. I have had him for 2 months. 2) Brown matt that came with the terrarium 3) My stick on thermometer is measuring 75-80 degrees consistently 4) He did not eat on Tuesday or yesterday, but he ate 4 meal worms today. I have not seen him poop since Monday. 5) I switched him from crickets to meal worms recently. About 3 weeks ago, I'd estimate. 6) He had been sitting in the corner rather than climbing into his favorite tree, which he does every day. I am happy to report, however, that he looked much, much better when I walked into the house today. He was still curled up in the corner, but when he saw me he moved quickly to the front of the tank. I had not seen him move very much at all in the last two days, and when he did move it was very slowly. I figured he was constipated because he would go near his usual poop corner and looked like he was breathing heavily and straining to poop. He hissed a few times, so I knew he was in pain. When I gave him a bath on Tuesday he did not seem very fond of it, but yesterday, I got him to calm down enough to gently rub his belly from front to back. He was still in bad shape this morning, but he seems to be doing a lot better. Today, I went and got him a UTH pad and vitamin spray for his food. I read that crickets have a softer exoskeleton, so I was going to pick up some small crickets to switch him back, but the pet store is out until tomorrow. I'm going to pick some up then. Any other suggestions to keep him feeling tip-top?
Hey there zelestrella, wanted to wish you a warm welcome to the boards as well = ) My only major criticism at this point is the thermometer - I would recommend looking into a digital thermometer with a probe or a tempgun. Unfortunately, many of the stick on thermometers meant for fish and the small plastic round analog thermometers are not always very accurate. Some can provide decent readings, but I have tested these and found a particular product to be up to 12 degrees off where they seem to have difficulty capturing temps above 85-90 degrees. The digital thermometer can be purchased at most general home improvement stores such as walmart, lowes, home depot etc for quite cheap (~$10-15). While you are there, you can pick up a small lamp dimmer for less than $10 which can be a temperature control agent for your new UTH. All you will have to do is use the dimming switch to adjust the temps in your enclosure, and it is a nice safety feature during house temperature fluctuations. Measure the surface temps of the substrate, and try to get the warm end of the enclosure where the UTH is up to around 88-90 degrees F. You may notice an overall improvement in your leo's behavior and and increased ability to metabolize prey once temperatures are bumped up to the proper range as well. And one quick question: What kind/brand of vitamin spray did you purchase? Keep him well hydrated and keep us posted on him! Glad he has been doing better recently = )
Hey Jeffreh, I will invest in a better thermometer and a dimmer. Thank you. Also, I got the Zilla Vitamin Supplement with Beta Carotene. Oh! And he finally pooped! Thanks, Zelestrella
